SHANGHAI -- Hideki Matsuyama arrived at the HSBC Champions as the first Japanese player in almost two decades to reach the top 10 in the world ranking. His 19 birdies over 36 holes in biting chill and swirling wind helped explain how he got there.Even as the weather shifted dramatically Friday at Sheshan International, Matsuyama kept piling up the birdies. One last birdie on the par-5 18th gave him a 7-under 65 and a three-shot lead going into the weekend of the final World Golf Championships event of the year.He is playing very well, said Rory McIlroy, who was six shots behind. And hell be tough to catch.Matsuyama was at 13-under 131 and led by three shots over defending champion Russell Knox (68) and Bill Haas (67). He shouldnt have been surprised by the result because it was his eighth consecutive score in the 60s dating to the second round of the Tour Championship.What made this one so satisfying were the conditions.Rain the past two days gave way to a strong wind when Matsuyama was warming up, and the wind made the sharp dip of temperatures into the 50s feel even worse.I thought maybe just a couple under par would be a good score, Matsuyama said. So Im really happy with how it ended up today. It was windy and cold. The ball, its hard to control. It was tough out there today.It was plenty tough for Adam Scott, who had a pair of double bogeys on the par-5s on his way to an 80. Kevin Kisner, a runner-up at the HSBC Champions last year, made a 9 on the final hole for an 80.Fifteen players still managed to break 70 because of the rain-softened greens, and while Matsuyamas 65 was the best score of the second round, making it even more impressive was that he also had two bogeys. On Thursday, he had 10 birdies against four bogeys.Nineteen birdies ... thats really, really strong, Knox said.Matsuyama already is having his biggest year since he began playing regularly around the world in 2014. He overcame a two-shot deficit over the final two holes and beat Rickie Fowler in the Phoenix Open. He had another top 10 in the Masters. While he went into a summer lull of poor putting -- missing the cut in the U.S. Open and The Open -- the 24-year-old returned to form at the PGA Championship with his best finish in a major (T-4) and has been steady ever since.Two weeks ago, he won the Japan Open for his ninth victory worldwide. He was runner-up to Justin Thomas in Malaysia last week, pushing his PGA Tour earnings for the year to over $4.6 million and moving him to No. 10.The last Japanese player in the top 10 was Jumbo Ozaki during the week of the 1998 Masters.A better attitude has helped this week too. Matsuyama doesnt have much of a record in the World Golf Championships, with his only top-10 at the Dell Match Play a year ago in San Francisco when he reached the quarterfinals only to be blown out by McIlroy.In three previous appearances at the HSBC Champions, he withdrew twice and tied for 41st.I havent really played well here before, Matsuyama said. So before coming here, I was a little bit nervous again thinking, Well, maybe its not going to be a good week for me. But then I decided, Lets just have fun this week. Its made a difference.It didnt look like much fun on Friday, particularly the final hour when the temperature dropped and a light rain fell.This felt like a cold day at Pebble Beach, said Daniel Berger, who shot a 70 and was in the group five shots behind.McIlroy thrived, too, and at least got back into the mix going into the weekend. He figured a 66 would do the trick, and it might have felt like more of an accomplishment if Matsuyama had not gone one better in the second round.McIlroys only blemish came at the reachable par-4 16th, when his tee shot was just right of the green and in a hazard. He found the ball in the bushes and thought for the longest time about playing it, constantly rehearsing a swing to see if the branches would allow him to make contact.A wiser head, and advice from his caddie, prevailed. McIlroy took a penalty drop and got out with a bogey. He made up for it with a birdie on the final hole for a 66 that at least has him in range, though much depends on Matsuyama.Theres definitely some rust in the 71 yesterday. I feel like Ive shaken most of that off, McIlroy said. It should be a good weekend. 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The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Given the choice, defenseman Victor Hedman and the Tampa Bay Lightning would prefer not being thrust into the position of having to once again prove theyre capable at succeeding without captain Steven Stamkos.The only real consolation is knowing the Lightning have done it before.You live in this reality now, and weve just got to have to face it, Hedman said, Thursday. Itll be a good test for us. But at the same time, we know we can handle it, and we know we can win hockey games even though were going to miss him.Hedman spoke before the Lightning played at Buffalo, and a day after the team announced Stamkos was out indefinitely with a torn ligament in his right knee. Stamkos was hurt in the first period of a 4-3 win at Detroit on Tuesday.Later on Thursday, the Lightning announced Stamkos had surgery and was expected to miss four months as coach Jon Cooper had suggested might be the timetable earlier in the day.If we put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs, hes going go to be back, Cooper said. And thatll be better than any trade deadline acquisition than anybody else is going to get.The challenge now is for the Lightning to make the postseason without the two-time NHL scoring champion and the teams on- and off-ice leader.Youve got to take your head out of the sand, dig your heels in and march on, Cooper said. And unfortunately, this has happened to us before and the guys have found a way.The injury is the latest recent setback for the 2008 No. 1 draft pick who signed an eight-year, $68 million contract last June to remain in Tampa Bay rather than test free agencyStamkos missed the final five games of last season and all but one playoff game after having surgery to remove a blood clot near his collarbone. Tampa Bay responded by reaching the Eastern Confference finals before losing Game 7 to eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh.ddddddddddddIn 2013-14, Stamkos missed 45 games with a broken right leg. The Lightning went 22-18-5 without him and still reached the playoffs before being eliminated in the first round.Cooper was a rookie head coach that season and still recalls the dread he felt when Stamkos was hurt in November 2013.The only difference this time is being able to draw upon that experience.The more youre put in the situation, unfortunately, the better equipped you are to handle it, so well see how we do, Cooper said. Yes, we are going to miss him dearly. But like Ive said, our season is not over by no means.The Lightning are off to an encouraging start. Since snapping a three-game skid, Tampa Bay has gone 5-2-1 in its past eight.Stamkos led the team with nine goals and was tied for third in the NHL with 20 points.The Lightning have plenty of talented depth on a lineup that returned the teams top 13 scorers and both goalies from last season.Its a group that includes Hedman, forward Ryan Callahan and Nikita Kucherov, who leads the team and is second in the league with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists). And then theres third-year forward Jonathan Drouin, who was called up from the minors in April and provided the Lightning an offensive punch with five goals and 14 points in 17 playoff games.I think thats one of our strengths in how deep we are and the amount of talent we have in our lineup, Callahan said. By no means are we not going to miss (Stamkos). I mean, you lose a guy like that and its going to affect you. But the way were built, how deep we are, you can help absorb some of that. ' ' '